Columbia man dies in Wed. crash

A Columbia man died Wednesday afternoon after his car crashed into a large pine tree off State Street.

The 68-year-old man, whose name was not immediately released by California Highway Patrol, was driving west on State Street in Columbia at a high rate of speed in his 1997 Chrysler LHS about 1:20 p.m., according to an incident report.

His car went off the south edge of the roadway where it sideswiped a tree, ran over a row of mailboxes and hit a large pine tree head-on, causing it to come to a stop, the CHP report said.

A witness and others passing by provided medical aid until emergency personnel arrived on scene, the report said.

The driver was transported to Sonora Regional Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead. CHP indicated in its report that the man was not wearing a seatbelt at the time of the crash.

CHP said the cause of the collision and the man’s death is still under investigation.